Nationwide — Mitrice Richardson, an African American woman from California, was 24 years old when she disappeared after being released from the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff’s station with no money, phone, or way to get home. Nearly a year later, her skeletal remains were found in a remote canyon. Almost 20 years later, her death remains unsolved.
Mitrice had graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in psychology just months before her disappearance on September 17, 2009. She planned to apply to graduate school and hoped to work with children in foster care. Friends and family remember her as lively, bright, and full of energy, someone who loved to dance, sing, and make people laugh.
According to ABC 7, on the night she disappeared, Mitrice stopped at Geoffrey’s restaurant in Malibu. Staff noticed she was acting strangely, speaking in riddles, and moving erratically. Concerned for her safety, the employees called deputies. Mitrice passed a sobriety test, and officers found only a small amount of marijuana in her car. Despite warnings from the restaurant staff, deputies drove her to the sheriff’s station and booked her.
Around midnight, Mitrice was released with no belongings and no way to get home. Her mother had called the station, worried about her safety, but Mitrice was let go anyway. Early the next morning, she was spotted in a nearby backyard but disappeared again before deputies arrived. Over the next 11 months, her family and search teams scoured roughly 20 square miles of the area.
In August 2010, California State Park rangers discovered Mitrice’s partially mummified remains in Dark Canyon, about six miles from the station. Her clothing was scattered, and parts of her skeleton, including her skull and spinal cord, were detached. The coroner classified her cause of death as “undetermined,” and the case remains open. Her family believes she may have been experiencing a mental health crisis that night and questions how she ended up in such a remote location.
Mitrice’s story has drawn attention to how authorities handle individuals in mental health emergencies. Advocates and her family argue that the case highlights systemic failures and the lack of resources for vulnerable people. Despite multiple reviews and searches, no new leads have surfaced, leaving her disappearance and death unresolved, but still remembered by those who knew her.